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Victoria Rojas
Mr. Cole
ENC 2135
17 July 2022
Rhetorical Analysis: The Power Journal Articles and Videos Have on Safety
Communicating the importance of safety is equally as important and necessary as safety

itself. For this reason, the significance of safety must be emphasized and understood by everyone

involved in the construction industry. Surprisingly, the relationship between safety and the

workers’ desire to work is very direct. Workers in an environment where there is constant high

risk of danger and careless management tend to be discouraged, causing them to perform poorly

and be miserable. The most highly recommended way to communicate the importance of safety

in construction sites is through the implementation of safety programs, and the ways construction

companies can communicate this with their workers, for example, are instructional videos and

journal articles. Both are different forms of media that present the significance of safety and

safety programs, and each have their own manner of doing so. Either form of media, or rhetorical

artifact, is remarkably effective in addressing the importance of safety and safety programs in

construction sites because both take advantage and make use of their own rhetorical situations.

One effective way to convey the significance of safety and safety programs in

construction sites is by video. It is very common for construction workers to be shown

instructional training videos about general safety, the fundamentals of working at a construction

site, and so on. A particular video that can be found on YouTube, “The Importance of

Construction Safety Programs”, explains how important it is to implement safety programs in

construction sites. In the video, David Dolnick, president and risk consultant at Dolnick Risk

Advisors, sits down and addresses the issue of safety at hand. He explains that the
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implementation of safety programs can strengthen the bond between the upper management and

the construction workers, which is essential because it will help enhance the job experience

exponentially for everyone. In his explanation, Dolnick uses logic when describing the effect of

safety programs, and how it relates to the building of a strong relationship between the upper

management and the construction workers, improving the construction company overall. He

evoked a sense of emotion when highlighting how the construction workers would react and feel

if good safety programs were implemented. Dolnick described how the construction workers

would feel much more appreciated in the work environment and more comfortable when

working at the construction sites if safety programs were implemented. The use of logic and

emotion emphasizes the necessity of the implementation of safety programs to the audience. The

supposed target audience for this video would be anyone working in the construction industry;

for example, construction workers and upper management. Having this information being

addressed in a video on YouTube is more appealing to the target audience rather than a journal

because it is easier to access. Also, the video itself is very appealing because it is short,

straightforward, and comprehendible. David Dolnick was just sitting down talking to the camera

throughout the video. This tactic made it seem as if Dolnick was conversing with the target

audience one on one, making the conversation more personal. Also, this highlighted how much

he and many other people in the construction industry care about the safety programs

implemented in the work environment and the well-being of the construction workers. The

publisher of this video is a company called IRMI. IRMI, International Risk Management

Institute, is a company that aids insurance companies and professionals with risk management.

This company works with an abundant number of construction companies very frequently, like

Dolnick’s company, because they deal with risk in the workplace quite often. It is only sensible
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that a company like IRMI would produce a video addressing the importance of the

implementation of safety programs in construction sites because they are very credible and

knowledgeable in this field. David Dolnick establishes his credibility in the beginning of the

video when his title and position are shown. IRMI establishes its credibility in the description of

the video, the biography page on its YouTube channel, and on its website. Having both Dolnick

and IRMI establish their credibility on this particular topic only makes them seem more

trustworthy, causing the targeted audience to trust whatever information they give, and making

them more engaged in the content. The remarkable use of rhetorical situation in this video

strengthens the message it is attempting to convey, and it causes the delivery of the information

to be very effective.

Another successful way to express the importance of construction safety is through a

journal article. Many professionals in construction, civil engineering, and architecture do

research and publish their findings to share with other professionals in the field, especially when

regarding safety in construction sites. In the article “Construction Safety Risk Mitigation,”

research was conducted to find the best and most effective way to implement key elements in a

safety program, so that the construction industry can continue to improve safety implementation

in the workplace. The article explains that it was found that strong support and commitment from

the upper management of construction companies were the overall best way to implement a solid

safety program. Throughout the article, strategies to appeal to the audience are used once again,

the most evident one being the use of logic. When conducting this research, intensive scientific

and mathematical methodology was done, and the data and results were presented. The data and

results helped express the overall message of the article by presenting real and factual

information. Not only was the use of logic evident, but the establishment of credibility was too.
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At the top of the page, all the authors are listed with their titles, position, education, and

experience. It is evident that each and every one of those authors are extremely qualified,

credible, and knowledgeable on the topic of construction safety. Also, the publisher of the article,

ASCE Library, establishes credibility as well. ASCE, the American Society of Civil Engineers,

is an American association where civil engineers all over the United States communicate with

each other about pending issues, like safety. Many research articles written by professionals in

civil engineering can be found through the ASCE Library. The ASCE is very recognized in the

construction and civil engineering community. The fact that this particular article can be found

on this website and was written by professionals makes the information presented very credible

and trustworthy. This will attract the attention of the targeted audience and cause them to be

more engaged in the topic. The supposed target audience of this article would be any

professional who works in the construction industry. Only professionals in this field would be

interested in reading this article because it is not very appealing to anyone outside the target

audience. Also, it would be difficult for anyone else to understand. The structure, tone, and

language of the article are very formal. This article is also very long and would take a while to

fully comprehend the research and the message in its entirety. On the other hand, professionals in

the construction industry would very much be attracted to this article due to its intensive

research. They would be highly appreciative of the large amount of effort and work put into the

article, which builds a relationship between the authors and the targeted audience. Even though

there was no direct intention, some types of emotion can be evoked from it. The rhetorical

situation of this article is evident and strong. It builds a solid foundation for the message being

conveyed and strengthens it, causing the overall message to be effective and successful.
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Even though they are very different forms of addressing and presenting information,

these two rhetorical artifacts effectively communicated the significance of safety and safety

programs in construction sites. Both had their own rhetorical situations and took advantage of

them. The journal article was more extensive than the video as it dove deeper into the topic of

construction safety by presenting legitimate research. On the other hand, the video had more

direct appeal present than the journal article, making a stronger connection with the audience

since it was very comprehendible. In the end, both were equally successful in effectively

conveying their own messages despite their major differences. The strong use of rhetoric in these

two rhetorical artifacts made the message being conveyed better overall. The two rhetorical

artifacts were examples of how construction companies can better present the necessity of

maintaining safety and implementing good safety programs within the work environment. These

examples are just a few of the many ways construction companies can communicate and present

information with their workers, especially about safety and safety programs. Building the bridge

between the upper management and the construction workers through communication and safety

programs are the only two ways to prevent the bridge that is the construction industry from

falling to its doom.